Vines
by Kay Hau
Summary: In which Natsume Takashi wakes up one morning to find vines growing up his arms. Little does he know that not only will these vines become his fiercest protectors, but that they're transforming him into something more than human. Something that may tie into legends of land gods and a power that cannot be allowed to fall into mortal hands.
1. Chapter 1

The voices were soft, light, airy and musical. It might have been music, floating on the wind, the words only imagined. Almost a song, the lyrics of which were more impressions than anything spoken, more feelings and emotions than actual words.

"_Searching… Searching…"_ the voices sang.

For what? The question needn't be asked, for the song revealed all. Mournful, desperate, weak, despairing. Aching of an endless journey, carrying on for that single note of hope. Their goal. Their star in the sky, the dream at the end of a rainbow.

A home. They were searching for their home, sure in their faith that it existed. That they would know home when they found it. Love, safety, protection, warmth.

"_Searching… Searching..."_

The wispy, musical voices, despite their weariness, their long, long, almost never-ending journey, still believed. They sang, in just that one word, not just their aching loneliness, but their hope and faith that home existed. That they would find it when the time was right.

Natsume found himself reaching out to the beautiful, mournful, hopeful voices. In what way, he wasn't sure, for he somehow knew this was another of his dreams – or, rather, another's dreams reaching out to him. Perhaps it was foolish, but his heart ached in empathy and yearned to reach out and comfort the voices, to welcome them, ease their pain, sure up their hope.

And the song changed.

Ringing with joy, love, hope.

Home.

…

Natsume blinked open his eyes, smiling gently at the remnants of the dream in his mind, heedless of the tears running down his face from being so wrapped up in pure emotion.

Home. Joy. The end of the search, the journey.

It was still dark, the sun not quite up yet. Nyanko-sensei was curled up at his side, snoring loudly and obliviously as usual.

Whose dream had that been? Natsume allowed his eyes to scan the room, trying to find the owners of those wispy, musical voices. Something small, he was sure. Delicate, innocent in its purity.

"_Home!"_ he heard, the tiny voices exactly as they'd been in his dream, only now so full of happiness and satisfaction. A joy so pure and sweet his heart ached for them. A pleasure so strong, their presence glowed like sunshine, strong and bright, warm and safe – only not to his physical eyes.

He closed his eyes, still trying to find them. To follow their warmth, the source of those sweet little voices.

"_Home! Happy! Safe!"_

His arms? Why would they be there?

Natsume opened his eyes and held out his arms. There they were. He smiled in greeting, not that they would know. Or would they?

On the underside of each arm, about midway between wrist and elbow, were dark green shadows of vines, much like a Natori's lizard 'tattoo'. They seemed to bask in his attention, the little tendrils and leaves squirming in delight.

Natsume laughed at the childlike happiness. "Well," he chuckled, "long as you don't curse me or anything."

The spirit vines probably didn't understand the words, but seemed to grasp the meaning behind them as they quickly sang to reassure that tiny inkling of worry in the very back of Natsume's mind, buried behind the wonder and enjoyment.

"_Protect home!" _they pretty much cheered._ "Never hurt! Safe forever! Good home!"_

Natsume couldn't help another bubbly laugh. Feeling strangely satisfied, he relaxed and went back to sleep.

* * *

><p>It had been three days.<p>

What could possibly be taking Nyanko-sensei so long?

Natsume didn't even have the energy to be mad. Worried sick? Well, yes.

Morbidly terrified? Uh, yeah.

Wasn't the first time he'd woken up captured in the Matoba main house, but the circumstances were just oh so different.

He hadn't been half-yokai at the time, for one. Which, while it did mean the Matoba clan was no longer trying to recruit him, also meant he had valid reason to fear for his life.

And, after three days, Nyanko-sensei's life. For all that fat old cat's selfishness, he _knew_ he wouldn't leave him to suffer at the hands of exorcists.

And now, being half-spirit himself, he well understood why all sorts of yokai were so scared of the large, powerful clan.

He'd noticed it even before waking that first day of his captivity. The extra senses and power he'd begun to take advantage of these last few months, gone. Blanketed, muffled, suffocated. His vines remained in their dormant state, winding about his arms under his skin, though they had barely moved in the last 36 hours. Certainly they hadn't, couldn't, awaken to serve as Natsume's extra limbs and fierce protectors and helpers.

Natsume panted as he turned his gaze upward to worriedly examine his precious vines, but they appeared as healthy as ever, for all their sluggishness. It was probably their influence that he was still alive at all, given that he hadn't eaten or drank anything since before he'd woken up in this hot, wet room.

Which probably explained why basically Natsume was bound in place in a greenhouse. Glass roof and walls, obscenely high humidity, rich soil he knelt on, the flowers and trees surrounding him. Weird to think he was probably living off photosynthesis.

His gaze and thoughts turned from his vines to the glowing cords binding his hands and arms in place above his head. The cords were wound in a very specific pattern, almost a web, trapping Natsume in the center of an elaborate spell circle.

Freeing himself without access to his vines was now well and truly impossible. After three days, he couldn't feel his arms anymore, let alone his fingers. Unbinding a simple knot would be beyond him.

Despair dragged at his heart. Three days. How long would this go on? What did the exorcists want with him anyway?

The click of the entrance, somewhere behind him, sounded, along with soft, paced footsteps and the swishing of robes.

Matoba.

As before, the slow, unhurried footsteps came to an end just behind him. Even knowing what to expect, Natsume couldn't stop the terrified shudders as Matoba's hands reached out to examine his bindings, then traced the path of Natsume's vines from fingertips to shoulders, highlighting every swirl and leaf, as if searching for something. Apparently the vines had spread even further, as he felt Matoba's fingers drift around the back of his shoulders and across his back, spiraling and crossing in random patterns.

Natsume leaned his head back, screwing up his courage as he caught a glimpse of Matoba's face and single, intense eye following his hands. Definitely looking for something.

Not that it wasn't still creepy, being bound, shirtless, kneeling in dirt, with a strange man's fingers tracing patterns on his back.

"What do you… want?" Natsume barely managed to ask, voice rough from disuse and pain. It wasn't himself, Natsume was sure of that. Matoba had been focused on his vines from the beginning.

Matoba ignored him, or at least seemed to as he continued tracing the vines across the teenager's back. Natsume caught a smirk crossing his face as he felt the fingers draw together and trace a single, winding line back up his back, up the back of his neck, and into his hairline.

Unaccountably, Natsume felt his heart and breathing speed up in almost panic, every muscle in his body tensing as Matoba ran his fingers through Natsume's fine hair, running carefully along the scalp until…

Natsume gasped as every muscle seized up painfully as Matoba's fingers touched… something. Tears sprung to his eyes and he could no longer hold back the whimper as Matoba twisted Natsume's hair around the fingers of one hand to keep him still as he again touched whatever _that_ was, running his fingers across and over it, heedless of the youth's garbled pleading to "Stop, stop, please stop, please…"

Natsume completely lost track of time, though it realistically couldn't have been more than a couple minutes, until the hands left his hair and, and _that_.

When Natsume managed to get a hold of himself and open his watery eyes, trying to control his stuttered breathing, he almost flinched to see Matoba standing in front of him, watching him appraisingly.

"Tell me, Natsume Takashi," he began, the first words Natsume had heard during his captivity. "Have you ever heard of the Fountain of Youth? The Philosopher's Stone? The Elixir of Life?"

Matoba didn't seem to care for Natsume's answer, not waiting for a reply before he continued on, single eye fastening to some spot in Natsume's hair and glittering in… delight?

"Because _you_ are the source of all those legends."

Huh? That didn't…

Matoba reached out. Natsume yanked his head back, but couldn't move far enough to prevent the exorcist clan leader from touching whatever _that_ was, again sending unbelievable pain shooting through Natsume's system. At least this time the hand didn't linger.

"You will bloom, Natsume Takashi. Bloom a mystical, healing flower that legends claim to be a cure to any ill, perhaps even the secret to immortality..." He trailed off, eyes glowing and satisfied smirk growing.

"And that flower, and any more to follow, _will_ belong to the Matoba clan."

* * *

><p><em>Author's Note: Hope that wasn't too confusing, and hope you enjoyed! To be honest, I really need feedback and honest reviews in order to continue this story! I have a ton of ideas, but really don't even know whether I want to follow them chronologically and have this 'spoiler' with Matoba as a bit of a flashforward, or would you all prefer me to follow the Matoba kidnapping as the main storyline with flashbacks of Natsume developing his powers? Feel free to send me ideas, advice, and requests too! <em>

_Also, credit where it's due, to harunekonya for her absolutely incredible story The Human Mask, which served as the inspiration for many of my ideas that I plan to use in this story. Seriously, I think it's as good as the original manga!_

_Thanks again for reading and hope to have a new chapter for you soon!_


	2. Chapter 2

There were bells ringing.

"Takashi-kun! Quickly!" shouted Touko-san's voice, elated.

Natsume blinked open his eyes, feeling strangely happy. The light seemed to be dancing around the room. The sweet scent of flowers floated around him, teasingly giving just a hint of sweetness to brighten the day.

The bells continued to ring, even with his eyes open and his mind clearing up. Not loud, booming church bells like in movies – these were more like wind chimes.

For the first time since he'd moved in, Touko-san burst into his room, a flurry of excitement and cheer. She rushed over to the window, flinging it open. "Wake up, Takashi-kun! Look what happened last night!"

Sweet little voices were humming along with the bells' tune, and with a start Natsume was awake and remembering the events of last night. The voices, the sprouts, the comfort and joy and pure happiness. Even without looking he knew the sprouts were still on his arms and it was them that were humming along.

"Takashi-kun!" pressed Touko-san, leaning out the window, eyes wide and delighted, waving him over.

It was instantly obvious what she was so elated about. Every single plant and tree that could had burst into flower overnight. Even those that couldn't were absolutely beaming with health, sparkling in early morning dew and the bright sunlight of a perfect day.

And what she surely couldn't see – the spirits and yokai of every shape and size loitering absolutely _everywhere_, dancing from tree to tree, twittering amongst flowers, parading around with flags and instruments, all laughing or chatting or singing with not the slightest hint of competition or bloodlust. Not paying the slightest mind to the ignorant humans. They'd even set up decorations, hanging paper lanterns and streamers from trees. He could even swear he saw some setting up fireworks a ways off.

What _was_ this? Some sort of universal day of good cheer? He hadn't even known there were so many spirits in this neighborhood! Actually, he was pretty much positive there _weren't_! He barely recognized five or six out of the dozens he could see just from his window!

"It's all over the news, even!" exclaimed Touko-san, his almost-mother excitedly taking his hands in her own, her smile beaming. "No one has any idea how this is possible, or how long it will last, or anything! It's a miracle!" She laughed. "Do you think the gods are having some sort of grand celebration, Takashi-kun?"

Natsume was speechless. He heard the sweet little voices inside his mind giggling at his bewilderment and awe. They actually felt all too satisfied about something. A sneaking suspicion crept into his mind that this might having something to do with the sprouts. He really hoped not. This was not one of sensei's comparatively simple drinking parties under a blossoming cherry tree.

But, at the same time, everything was so unbelievably amazing. Magical. The infectious cheer floating among all the spirits and even the humans. The addictive yet completely harmless party atmosphere. The beautiful day and impossibly beautiful flowers and the _bells_ that still rang sweetly.

"I'm going to open every window in the house!" explained Touko-san excitedly, taking Natsume's hands in her own and squeezing them. "And if you hurry and get ready, we can enjoy breakfast outside before you have to leave for school!"

He couldn't help but smile back at her exuberance. "I would like that, Touko-san," he said, a little bashfully.

Her eyes sparkled as she reached up and gently patted Natsume's face. "Get ready, dear. I'll be waiting in the kitchen when you come down," she explained, leaving to open the rest of the windows.

Now, where was that fat cat? Not in his room, that was certain. He leaned out the window, eyes darting around for either a fat cat or a huge white beast – either of which would fit in perfectly with the amazingly eclectic assortment of yokai running around celebrating. Not seeing either form, he frowned slightly and went to start getting ready for his day.

_"Not happy?" _queried the sweet little voices, concerned and confused.

Natsume smiled slightly as he pulled off his pajama top. "It's not that, exactly," he said softly, examining the squirming leaves once his arms were free. They seemed to bask in his attention, even as they gave the mental equivalent of snuggling for comfort.

_"What's wrong? We help!"_

"Nothing's wrong, just… well, I suppose that's a lie," chuckled the teenage boy gently, finishing changing his clothes. "I'm just confused about what's going on out there. Hoping it has nothing to do with you guys. Worried about sensei and hoping he gets home soon to explain things."

_"Festival! Miracle!" _started cheering the voices, in that strange more feeling than words impression in Natsume's mind. _"Be happy! Precious home! Everyone happy!"_

_'But isn't it dangerous? All the spirits being out like that? Surely the exorcists won't let this go,' _thought Natsume, heading to the bathroom to begin his morning routine.

_"Happy! Home loves spirits! No worry!" _cheered the vines, completely not answering his worries at all, though confirming that they could read his thoughts.

"Na~shuume!" slurred a very obviously happily drunk cat, wheeling around the corner. "The miracle'sh come!"

The boy let out a breath of relief at seeing the cat before he replied. "That makes no sense, sensei. What is going on outside?"

"Free booze!" laughed the spirit. "All week long! Yessh!"

"Sensei!" exclaimed Natsume, getting a little upset at being pretty much ignored. "What about exorcists? All the flowers -! It's obviously supernatural! What if someone gets hurt!"

The fat cat sprawled on his back, waving a paw dismissively. "Nah. The gods're protectin' this area pershonally while they look for the miracle'sh bed."

Natsume paused, comb in hand facing the mirror. "Bed… like flowerbed?"

"Yep!"

"Sensei…" began Natsume, paling. "Um…" He abruptly sat on the ground and pulled up his sleeves. "I don't suppose you mean…?"

Nyanko-sensei immediately sobered. Well, mostly. He lunged forward into Natsume's lap, sniffing and licking at the shadowy green leaves. In turn, the little sprouts wriggled in delight and Natsume couldn't help a giggle as their emotions bled into his own. He blushed and cut it off when the cat looked up at him, eyes wide in concern.

"Natsume," began Nyanko-sensei seriously. "Do you know what you agreed to?"

"I… I was just trying to comfort the… the seeds? I heard them in my dream last night. What's going on, sensei?"

The cat groaned and suddenly turned into his massive beast form. He must've adjusted his size, because even though he really shouldn't be able to fit in the restroom, he managed to wrap himself comfortingly around the human child. Natsume buried himself in the long, thick white fur.

"I don't understand either, Natsume. Yes, you're powerful, but… it's supposed to be a _spirit_, even a _god_ that's chosen…" the beast murmured gently, sounding almost as confused as his boy.

Natsume began shivering. "The celebrations… are for me? Or rather, these sprouts? The gods are looking for _me_?"

The great head nudged him lovingly. "It'll be okay, Natsume. The miracle will never bring harm. It's a great privilege, the greatest honor. That is why we celebrate. That is why the flowers bloom and the gods take notice."

The little vines in Natsume's head were panicking in their attempts to comfort him. _"It's okay! Love home! Protect! Safe! Happy!" _they continued desperately, not understanding the human's fear, only making Natsume more emotional.

"I can't reject them," whispered Natsume, frightened. "They need me. They love me. I don't even know why. I love them. Why? But what's going on? What's going to happen?"

"I don't know," answered Nyanko-sensei honestly, nuzzling the boy. Now that he was paying attention, he could already smell the changes in the boy's scent. There was no way they could hide this for long.

"Takashi-kun!" came the muffled sound of Touko-san's voice through the bathroom door.

Natsume gently pulled away from the great beast.

"Stay home," advised the beast, worry shining in his eyes. "It'll take longer for them to find you. Even gods won't enter human dwellings without permission. Just tell Touko-san that you're sick."

Natsume looked up at the great white beast, the huge expressive eyes. He reached up and pet the side of the large head. "Are they going to take me away, sensei?"

"Probably," replied the beast, regretfully. "The miracle has never chosen a human, Natsume."

"Then I want to have breakfast with Touko-san. I want to go to school and see Kaname, Nishimura, Kitamoto, and Taki. I want to have dinner with the Fujiwaras. I want to pretend nothing's changed, for as long as I can. Please."

Nyanko-sensei sighed and returned to his lucky cat form. "I'll come with you."

* * *

><p>It was the fourth day, as best Natsume could tell. A day since the revelation that the miracle the spirits had been rejoicing over was a magical healing flower. Since Matoba's declaration that Natsume (or, rather, what Natsume had become) belonged to the Matoba clan. And now Matoba was back.<p>

Today was different, though. Instead of stopping behind him and examining the bindings and vines, he came around in front of Natsume, his single eye appraising the pathetic view in front of him. The filthy half-yokai, half-human teenage boy kneeling in dirt, shirtless with his arms bound above him.

Natsume couldn't even raise his eyes for more than a glance. Couldn't help but cower beneath that stare swiping him up and down. Was unable to hide the yelp when a hand came forward and gripped his chin, tilting his head up.

"You look ill," stated the clan leader coldly. "I suppose we can't completely disregard your human form."

He pulled a knife out of his sleeve, and before Natsume could even panic, he chanted a spell and sliced through one of the anchor cords, a sort of spoke in the spiderweb of a spell circle.

A surge of power and pain rippled through Natsume and he cried out. Matoba grabbed the bound wrists, holding him in place as he cut the rest of the 'spokes' that held the boy in the center. With each sliced rope the surge slammed into the boy, each more powerful than the last. With the final slash, Natsume screamed as if he was being electrocuted. Matoba released him and he collapsed bonelessly to the ground, very nearly losing consciousness.

To think being released from a spell circle was more painful than being trapped within it in the first place. His arms lay limp and unresponsive, buzzing with incredible pain as every nerve cried out in protest after so long of feeling nothing. He could actually feel the blood shoving its way through the nearly dead limbs, even with them still bound together with the cords – the bindings were far too intricate to completely unravel, even with being released from the spell circle. His legs were very nearly as painful and just as useless.

Matoba laughed.

It stung, the confirmation that Matoba no longer saw him as human. That he would laugh at seeing the 'spirit' collapsed in pain. A part of Natsume's heart ached that _anyone_ could laugh at someone in as much pain as he was in, spirit or not, enemy or not.

"I hardly need to bother," chuckled Matoba, leaning over and securing the ends of the bindings around Natsume's wrists and arms, making sure they were still impossible to remove. As before, the intricate winding cords traveled in a series of knots and twists from elbow to wrist and even between the fingers, completely rendering the limbs useless. After that, he took the knife to Natsume's pants, slicing them to mid-thigh.

Natsume was too exhausted to protest, even as he saw Matoba pull out a calligraphy brush and a small pot of paint. It wasn't until Matoba began drawing symbols on his legs that panic began to flood through him again. But he couldn't so much as twitch a toe or finger, even though he told himself to squirm in the hopes it would ruin Matoba's spell.

Curse, he corrected himself, closing his watery eyes as Matoba began to chant and the symbols began to burn into his legs, from the back of his thighs to his ankles. The dark aura and burn was unmistakably evil in essence.

After the burn of the curse activating settled down, Matoba scooped Natsume up like a small sleeping or injured child.

"Wh-where?" Natsume managed to choke out weakly.

"Bath," was the one-word reply from the man, who didn't even glance down at him.

It didn't take long to figure out what the curse did.

He couldn't feel his legs.

* * *

><p><em>Author's Notes: Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed, and please review! <em>

_I honestly rewrote this chapter at least three times, but I think I'm finally happy with it. To those that are curious, I've decided to try my hand at a dual-storyline. Heh, this might get complicated! Feel free to send me suggestions, even if they feel like just filler or character development – I love hearing ideas and comments from readers! _


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